In recent years, Hosted PBX service has advanced by leaps and bounds and become a highly welcome communication option for businesses. However, there are organisations that are deferring the adoption of this service as long as their current telephone system continues to perform. Hence, some may still be operating with a phone system that lacks the flexibility and range of capabilities needed to support their growing business.

In a fast-changing world, the biggest challenge facing businesses today is a digitally transforming environment. It has reached a point where embracing new technologies to improve productivity and performance is the only way forward.

It’s time to take stock of your organisation’s phone system setup, especially if your business is stuck with an old on-premise solution.

Any of the issues below sound familiar to you?

• PBX system downtime impacting business operations for hours or even days
• Too many resources invested in maintaining an aging PBX system
• Vendors taking days to weeks to resolve a report or replace broken parts
• Incremental cost in maintenance and support
• Lack of specialised in-house expertise to maintain the system

“Hosted phone service supports the frenetic growth that many small businesses face without a large upfront investment.” Forbes Magazine

 

Reasons to switch to Hosted PBX

Low start-up costs: What makes Hosted PBX unique, especially for small to mid-sized businesses, is that it provides a comprehensive system which does not require any start-up cost or substantial capital investment. No major on-site hardware is required as all functionality is administered via a centralised platform hosted by the provider.

Speedy deployment: Installation time is extremely quick. In fact, it’s as easy as plugging a phone into the office network. Features such as IVR, extensions and call routing can be configured in just a few minutes through a self-service portal or support from the provider.

Highly scalable: Some businesses experience periodic staff fluctuation or are impacted by various factors that may cause call volume to drop or spike rapidly. With hosted PBX, it’s really easy to add capacity as required.

Suite of comprehensive features and advanced apps: Each user will have access to a suite of features which can boost productivity for their company. These include extensions, customised IVR, greetings, voicemail to email, the ability to have business calls ring their desk phone and their mobile phone simultaneously, as well as conference calls.

Mobility: Now more than ever, workers are mobile. With access to connectivity, all employees can be connected to the office from anywhere remotely. Hosted PBX enables them to call or answer calls from a corporate number or numbers from any countries assigned to them anywhere, anytime. Companies become much more productive when both physical and geographical barriers are removed.

 

“Mobility is the largest or one of the largest catalysts for hosted PBX growth. 84% of IT managers say mobility is important to them.” Forbes Magazine

 

Avoid having obsolete technology: Technology evolves constantly, hence many businesses opt for operating expenses or subscription models over capital expenses to ensure they won’t be stuck with expensive equipment that will become obsolete in just a few years. A big advantage of using a hosted-based phone service is the freedom of not having to invest in and manage the equipment. Additionally, not every business has an internal IT team with the telephony expertise to keep a system running effectively. With the right Hosted PBX provider, businesses have access to all the upgrades, new features and maintenance required to ensure the system operates smoothly.

 

“REDtone has been the leading alternative voice provider in Malaysia for the past two decades. With our extensive experience and as a three-time recipient of the Frost & Sullivan ‘Alternative Voice Service Provider of the Year’ Award, we are always at the forefront of the business communication evolution. Our voice solutions are designed specifically to meet business needs.

REDtone Hosted PBX is a fully managed, enterprise-grade phone system that helps businesses communicate reliably without the need for large capital investments/expenses or maintenance fees. It offers customers a fully virtualised solution complete with advanced features. We manage the system for you and administer all upgrades virtually.”

– Lau Bik Soon, REDtone Group CEO

 

Look out for the additional features that a good Hosted PBX offers.

Analytics and tracking tool to simplify workflow

New phone systems can integrate seamlessly with Google Analytics, CRM and many other systems. This ultimately increases work productivity. Through customer data analysis, companies can predict customer behaviour and buying trends. Call Tracking makes marketing campaigns more effective. It enables businesses to track the source of incoming calls which will aid in retargeting efforts and campaign performance evaluation.

Stable call quality

Never settle for less than a clear voice call. Poor call quality, including echo, choppiness and delays, is a problem that a business shouldn’t ignore as it leads to inefficient communications, a poor brand image and negative impact on the customer experience. It is important for businesses to choose a phone system from a service provider that can guarantee high availability with stable quality. Thus, it is recommended to select hosted PBX provider has direct connection to the rest of the licensed telcos in the country as to ensure good call quality.

Call Centre features with Agent Performance Analytics

Traditional proprietary PBX’s with call center functionality have proven to be either too expensive or difficult to set up. The Agent Performance Analytics tool, which is one of the key features of Hosted PBX which is of high value to call centres. It offers comprehensive live reporting and dashboard views of performance data, both real time and historical. This enables supervisors to plan and manage their resources effectively. The information gathered can also be used in human resource training and development.

 

MAKE THE RIGHT CHOICE

While Hosted PBX has numerous benefits, there is really no one-size-fits-all business phone system. The most important thing in choosing a phone system is to have a clearly defined goal. Understand what your business needs are in addition to determining the budget and requirements of your employees and customers. Educate yourself on the benefits and potential challenges that come with using either a premise-based or hosted phone system. Above all, choose a phone system that is perfect for your current business needs, yet scalable to accommodate future growth.